One Liner: Funny to think that Zach Bryan has been around long enough to have artists following in his footsteps, but this guy is right there.
Wikipedia Genre: country, rock, folk, alternative (err, really tho?)
Home: Southeast Missouri
Poster Position: Second Quarter - Line 7
Day: Friday
Weekend Two Only.
Thoughts: He was at Two Step Inn in 2023, and to be completely honest, I thought I was about to hear Sam Fender. I am sort of sad that this is not Sam Fender. I was pumped that he might be trying to come back, since his last attempt to ACL was cancelled. Alas, a country guy instead. No offense intended to my man Barbs here, just wanted some of that Hypersonic Missiles action.
Back in 2023, Wikipedia was unhelpful, in that "Sam Barber" there was this: "Samuel Barber (September 17, 1919 – April 18, 1999) was an American baseball pitcher in the Negro leagues. A native of Birmingham, Alabama, Barber played with the Birmingham Black Barons in 1940, and served in the US Army during World War II. He died in Birmingham in 1999 at age 79."
But by now, this Barber has begun to make a name for himself and has an actual Wikipedia entry. Born in 2003 in Fronha, Missouri, he is just barely old enough to drink. He was raised on his family's ancestral farm in far eastern Missouri, a population of 254 in the town. He started learning to play guitar when he was 16 while messing around with his grandfather's guitar, and by 2021 he was enrolled in State Technical College of Missouri and releasing little music videos on TikTok. He then auditioned for the 20th season of American Idol and received a Golden Ticket to head to Hollywood. However, he was subsequently eliminated, and his performance did not air. Booooooooo.
But his rise has been ridiculously fast - he played the Grand Ole Opry just three months after his first official headlining concert at The Basement, in Nashville, in 2023. His big hit, which has already been certified as Platinum by the RIAA, is "Straight and Narrow", and that remains his top track by a lot. 313.7 million streams.
I love that location - can I please go there right now? Super simple tune, but a powerful message about overcoming setbacks. Wild to think he wrote that while still a teenager. And by the way, in one interview, he admits that he first learned the guitar by playing Zach Bryan covers. He gives a shout out to Tyler Childers, saying that Bottles and Bibles is his favorite album ever. He also includes ZB and Stapleton as his other inspirations. And the comparison to an early Zach Bryan is a quick and easy one to make. Some of these songs have a touch of production going on, but most of them are super stripped-down tunes with this kid singing over his acoustic, and nothing else going on. One EP - 2023's Millon Eyes - and one ridiculously long album - 2024's Restless Mind. In an interview, he said that his favorite track from the EP is "Save Me," which is funny because it is in the bottom three for streams for the disc. His second-most streamed tune on the EP is a cover - "Dancing in the Sky," originally by something called Dani & Lizzy. 102.4 million streams.
Definitely the track on here with the most production - he leaves behind the stripped-down sound in favor of drums, bass, organ, etc. and it almost actually sounds like he might be somewhere other than his bedroom.
The new disc is an hour and thirty-four minutes and 28 songs, so he is taking another page out of the Bryan playbook by just shoveling everything into one bag and hoping it holds. I actually like the direction he is going, with more production and a richer sound. The top single that isn't a re-released track is "Indigo," featuring Avery Anna. 172 million streams.
Terrible blurry video. But very nice little tune. Her voice is leagues better than his, but it still works together. The playcount on the album is honestly confusing. I guess some songs have made it onto playlists and others have not, because it is literally like 1.7 million, 14 million, 1.6 million 29 million, 1.7 million 1.5 million, 1.8 million, 172 million. For an old person trained to listen to entire albums at once, that is jarring to see.
I'd go see him play. Too bad he is Weekend Two only.
